(BARRY) ISLANDS IN THE STREAM
Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West featuring Tom Jones and Robin Gibb

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HALO
Beyonce

It’s a bit worrying how so many rappers do songs about friends of theirs who died in violent circumstances; Dead And Gone’s another one to add to a lengthening list. What does pop music have by way of comparison? Elton John retooling an old song for Princess Diana, and that’s about it off the top of my head. Notwithstanding some staggeringly obvious product placement for Bwin (no, me neither) in the video, Poker Face is daft, a bit silly and, as pop songs go, not bad. Now, you’d think that if a country music song had managed to reach the Top Ten in the twenty-first century it would have to be pretty bloody special, wouldn’t you? Well, Love Story isn’t remotely special, but well done anyway, Taylor Swift. Well done also to Kelly Clarkson, for getting a single that I personally would have placed in the Top 20 at best all the way to Number One.

I love Depeche Mode. I love the twelve-inch mix of Just Can’t Get Enough; it’s one of the greatest extended mixes of any song ever. However, the seven-inch version is… and it still hurts to say this… not as good as the Saturdays’ version. The darker Schizo Mix on the 12” is where Depeche Mode excel, but when it comes to the poppier radio version, the Saturdays have beaten them. It helps also that the people who did the arrangement for the remake have not only heard the original, but have taken the bits that worked first time round. Right Round isn’t as good, but it does borrow Dead Or Alive’s only chart-topper for the chorus so it’s not all bad.

So, this is it for Oasis. Listening to their songs again has given me a greater appreciation of their efforts, it has to be said; they were a lot less samey than I thought they were, especially in later years. Falling Down’s a decent way to go out, and if you can get your mitts on a copy of the marvellously trippy 22-minute remix that was around at the time, I strongly recommend it. I don’t recommend Beautiful because it’s samey and I don’t recommend (Barry) Islands In The Stream because it’s essentially a karaoke song with a few ad-libs from Tom Jones, however, it’s given Rob Brydon a Number One single so it does at least offer that as a consolation.

Can’t help feeling that I shouldn’t like Halo; it’s not a very me song, and yet… I’ve heard worse.